“At first I thought that it must have had to do with the process itself, which is extremely painstaking and highly meditative, and during which I was in deep communion with their images, often talking or arguing out loud with them as if they were there.

“But then a friend who knew what I was doing and who had lost his own mother at an early age and always felt that their relationship was unresolved asked me if I would make a portrait out of her ashes for him, which I did, and he described a very similar experience to what I had also felt, a profound and consoling sense of her presence,” reported Metro.

In total, she has done around 30 such portraits.

Heide says the results have been favourable and well-received by those who have lost loved-ones.

She added: “The Romans said ‘vita brevis, ars longa’ – Life is short, art is long.”